GM Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Transmission Problem

General Motors is facing a class action lawsuit that alleges some of its automatic eight-speed Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC vehicles have a defect in their transmissions.

The defect causes the cars to shake, jerk or “hard shift” when the driver speeds up or slows down, according to the case.

What Cars Are We Talking About?

The lawsuit names the following vehicles equipped with either a GM 8L90 or GM 8L45 transmission.

What Issues Are People Reporting with their Transmission?

When a driver accelerates or decelerates, the cars will reportedly hesitate and then shudder, jerk, clunk or “hard shift” when the automatic transmission switches gears. This may also occur when the vehicles are accelerating in a single gear and not necessarily switching gears. Drivers have said that the shift is sometimes so violent that it feels as if they have been hit by another car. One owner also said that his transmission shifted so harshly from “reverse” to “drive” that he nearly drove through his garage door.

GM has issued 13 technical service bulletins related to shifting issues alone, but “none of the suggested repairs have remedied the problem,” the lawsuit says.

NHTSA Complaints

Dozens of complaints have been submitted by drivers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over these transmission problems. The following is a sample of these complaints [sic throughout]:

Known transmission issue which causes the vehicle to buck and surge when you pull up to at a stop light, Stop sign, on highway, or in traffic. Extremely Dangerous…We are afraid to drive the vehicle as it surges forward at any given moment. Contacted Cadillac and they are unwilling to do anything to help with the issue. They are concerned that this would start them down a slippery slope for repairing many 2015,16,17's that have the same issue…Someone is going to get seriously injured or killed as a result of this transmission issue.”
— Lexington, MA, September 13th, 2018

The gmc 2017 canyon vibrates at highway speed 60mph to 70mph. The 2nd day after I bought it took it on long Trip found it had vibration problems…this concerns me. For being stranded or worse causing an Accident from something coming loose. I`ve already had to tighten up my spare tire. I bought this pickup for long trips since I’ve retired. I also feel if they’re going to sell crap like this, they need to put the vibration issues on the accessory list so buyers will have the option whether to buy or not. I would have not bought a $40,000.00 vibrator!!”
— Norman, OK, February 5th, 2018

[My torque converter] failed at 16000 miles and the one they replaced will likely fail again in another 16k miles. This is bad. I noticed it when I pressed on the accelerator and as I increased speed up to 45 mph. It rattled and rocked badly. The gmc repairman said, ‘yeap.... ever since 2016 all these damn Torque converters have been failing in the canyons And Colorado’s because gm and Chevy changed the size and strength of the metal used in order to reduce the weight of the vehicle. We will replace it, But I can assure you it will fail again and you'll have to bring it back…[to] change out again.’”
— Vero Beach, FL, December 31st, 2018

Purchased my 17 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 on 11/28/17 and returned it to the dealership on 12/1/17. This was due to a severe shuddering & shifting in the transmission & severe shake in the front end at 70-90mph. They balanced & rotated the tires, saying the issue was fixed, I picked the vehicle back up on 12/4/17 but the issue was not fixed & an electrical issue had also occurred. I took the vehicle back on 12/7 /18 with the same complaints…They had to replace the torque converter…I picked it up on 12/22/17, issue with the transmission was still not resolved…Owners with the same issues are being told gm knows but can't fix transmission issue.”
— Sophia, NC, March 22, 2018

What Does the Lawsuit Say the Problem Is?

It is believed that the shuddering and jerking problem is related to issues within the transmission and possibly the torque converter. According to the class action lawsuit, these internal issues can cause “undue friction” and result in the hydraulic systems and gears not functioning properly. This leads to metal shavings circulating throughout the transmission.

How Can a Class Action Help?

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